The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a wireless communication system for information handling systems in a rack.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Some information handling systems such as, for example, switches, servers, and storage devices, are sometimes positioned in racks and connected together in order to provide a datacenter. For example, a plurality of servers may be connected to a Top Of Rack (TOR) switch that is connected to a network, and the TOR switch may route data from the network and to the servers, from the servers and to the network, as well as between different components in the rack. The servers and TOR switches are typically connected together using conventional cabling such as, for example, Ethernet cables that are configured to transmit the data between the TOR switch and the servers. However, because racks can hold dozens of servers, the connection of between those servers and the TOR switch requires many cables that must be routed through the rack, and that cabling can become cumbersome, obstructing access to the TOR switch, servers, and/or other features of the rack. It is desirable to eliminate the use of conventional cables in connecting devices in a rack, but the use of wireless communication raises a number of issues. For example, because of the close positioning in the servers and the TOR switch in the rack, many types of wireless communications systems will experience interference if used by each of the servers in the rack, while obstructions in the rack between the TOR switch and a server can prevent or degrade more directed types of wireless communications between any particular server and the TOR switch. Some have suggested the use of reflecting systems in the rack that allow directed types of wireless communications between the TOR switch and the server to be reflected around obstructions, but the reflection of wireless communications results in communication losses and/or signal distortion that can degrade the wireless communications to a point that prevents communication between the TOR switch and the servers.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved rack communication system.